Russell
Palmer, Political Reporter
No work has
been done on the nurse bonding and relocation schemes
National campaigned on in the election, the Health Ministry
has confirmed.
Health Minister Simeon Brown has
repeatedly avoided answering direct questions from RNZ about
the continuation of the schemes, a key plank of National’s
health policies.
The scheme the party proposed
in April 2023 would have seen the government put $4500 a
year towards nurses and midwives’ student loans starting in
2024. It was to be paired with a relocation programme
offering up to $10,000 to up to 1000 qualified overseas
nurses and midwives.
Nurses at the time were
sceptical, saying it would be better to improve pay and
conditions or make nursing tuition free.
Asked if any
work had been done on the policy, the Health Ministry
confirmed it “is not currently working on a standalone
bonding scheme”, pointing to other initiatives aimed at
increasing the workforce.
These include the expansion
of Health NZ’s separate voluntary bonding scheme introduced
under John Key’s government, which Brown celebrated
in a statement late last month.
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RNZ questioned him in
early May on progress with National’s election
policy.
“Well look, we announced I think last week a
significant uplift in the number of bonded placements
through Health NZ to bond a range of nurses and other health
practitioners,” he said, referring to Health NZ’s
scheme.
Put to him that was a different scheme, he
said “and there’s been a significant increase in the number
of placements”.
Asked if it was therefore no longer
needed, he said: “Well, it’s a significant increase in the
number of places that we have made available in that
existing bonding scheme”, and asked directly if the election
policy had been abandoned, he said “we’re very focused on
the current scheme … and growing it”.
Subsequent
questions on Wednesday about the scheme were met with
similar responses.
“Oh, look, as I announced a few
weeks ago Health New Zealand’s invested significantly more
into the nurse bonding that it currently operates … we’re
doing a lot to invest in more nurses, both in acute both in
hospitals and in primary care … the bonding system is
something that we’ve continued to invest in.”
Brown
also brushed off written questions, his office’s
five-paragraph response answering none of RNZ’s questions
directly.
“National’s health workforce policy was
developed at a time when New Zealand was facing critical
nurse shortages, driven by border closures and a failure to
provide clear immigration pathways for nurses under the
previous government,” one said.
The new bonding scheme
was costed at $46.8 million over three years starting in
2024/25, rising to $49.2m in 2027/28, with the relocation
grants costing $10m a year over the same timeframe – the
money all coming out of the savings expected from reducing
government spending on contractors and
consultants.
The policy remains
on National’s website.
Prime Minister Christopher
Luxon as recently as December said
the scheme was still a “live” issue and while he could give
no firm commitment on timing, “that programme is still
something that [then-Health Minister] Shane Reti will work
his way through”.
Simeon Brown replaced Dr Reti as
Health Minister the following
month.
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